


All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us

by The Blue Escapist (theblueescapist)



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-19
Updated: 2010-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-13 19:25:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/140828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theblueescapist/pseuds/The%20Blue%20Escapist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the events of the game, Hope and Lightning work through some issues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moemachina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moemachina/gifts).



Hope felt a shiver going down his spine, but he concentrated on the satisfying crack as he brought the axe down, the shock of the blow ricocheting back in his arms. He bent to place another chunk on the chopping block, then pulled the axe over his head, careful this time to relax his muscles before swinging. The twitches in his back assured him he would feel it tomorrow anyhow. He kept hacking, pausing twice only to wipe the sweat on his face with his forearm.

At last his hand found no more spare logs to split. Hope blinked and realized he had littered most of the yard with wood chunks. He sighed.  
“Care to help me pick these up? Or are you just going to keep watching?” he asked without turning. He stifled a groan as he started cleaning up.

“I didn’t want to intrude. You seemed to be working out a serious grudge from here,” Lightning said. She walked over and squeezed his shoulder lightly. Hope yelped. “Hmm. That’s what I thought. Go wash up, I’ll take care of this.”

Hope shrugged her off. “Snow called you, didn’t he? You were supposed to be back tomorrow.”

“It was your Dad, actually. He said you’d been in a fight and were out of sorts. He was worried.”

“So you dropped everything to come baby me, huh?” Hope kicked the closest piece of wood hard. He could hear her thinking.

He managed to reach the wood shed without toppling the stack over and pried the door open with the tip of his foot. When he was finished, Lightning was leaning against the door frame. Hope gritted his teeth and tried to slip past her, but she gripped his wrist and pulled him against her. Her fingers were cool against his skin. He resisted the urge to look up and find out if her cheeks were that delicate shade of pink they usually took on when the weather grew chilly.

“Hope,” she said, her lips cold against the burning shell of his left ear. Her thumb was sliding over and over his palm and he could feel the flush spreading to his entire face.  
“It was just a routine patrol, cutting it short was not a problem. But had it been otherwise, I would have come anyway.”

Hope tensed up and felt his arousal wilt. He yanked his arm free and stepped away.  
“Right. Because of course I can’t take care of myself, can I?”

“You know that wasn’t what I meant,” Lightning said, sharply.

“Just drop it, Light, okay?” Hope paused, startled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. I just…”  
There was no way of digging himself out of this one, he realized, as he stared at the mess in front of him.  
“Listen. I’ll go wash up like you said. Could you please tidy up for me? I don’t want Dad to have to do it, his back is still giving him trouble.”

“Already said I would, didn’t I?” Lightning replied, her tone clipped.

Hope fled before she decided they needed to have this conversation.

* * *

Hope soaked in the claw-foot tub, basking in the welcome warmth that was already doing wonders for his sore muscles. He spared a couple of minutes to really appreciate the fact they lived in one of the few houses that actually had hot water, but his mind inevitably strayed to the blasted wind turbines that kept breaking and depriving them of power. Hope was sure that not even five hundred years of neglect could account for how erratically they were malfunctioning. They had to have missed something when they had patched the things up and the sooner they found out what it was, the sooner they could move on to getting the railway working.

Lost in his thoughts, it took Hope a while to realize the water had turned lukewarm. He rinsed one last time, then got out of the tub. Even inside the temperature had dropped some degrees: it would be best if he lit at least the fireplace in his father’s room. Perhaps his afternoon hadn’t been a waste of time after all.

Hope toweled his hair as he padded back to his room. Lightning was sitting on his bed. Her eyes slowly travelled down his body. Hope looked away and tightened the sash of his bathrobe.

“Lie down,” Lightning said. “I’ll give you a massage.”

“There’s… There’s no need, Light, I’m _fine_ —”

Lightning snorted. “Come here and let me see for myself, then.”

Hope stifled a humorless laugh. “Walked right into that one,” he said, but he still went to stand in front of her. Her hands brushed his collarbones as they glided beneath the terry cloth and he shivered.

“Cold?” Lightning asked. She slid the bathrobe off his shoulders and he had to put an arm around his middle to stop it from falling off entirely.

“Not exactly,” Hope said.

It failed to get him the smirk he expected: Lightning was glaring at the dark bruises on his torso as if she could intimidate them away. Hope doubted she had heard him at all. Her lips were pursed in a downward curve that would have been a pout on anybody else. Hope found himself smiling.

“Light,” he said, softly. “I really am okay, you know.” When she looked up, he held her gaze for the first time that day.

“Hmph. You need bruise ointment,” she said, eventually. She wasn't frowning anymore, though, so Hope counted it as a win.

“It’s over there,” he nodded towards the bedside table. “I put on some yesterday and this morning as well, but if you want to do it yourself…”

Lightning flicked her forefinger against his forehead, but followed his teasing suggestion anyhow. Her touch was careful, yet thorough and being able to feel unbroken skin seemed to soothe her.  
It had the opposite reaction on Hope, who bit his lower lip in an attempt to distract himself. When the small pain refused to register, he was reduced to wishing the tent in his bathrobe would go unnoticed.

He risked a glance and her eyes met his at once. The corners of her mouth were twitching. Hope flushed furiously.

“Your Dad went to Lebreau’s café. Said he felt like playing darts.”

Hope blinked. “But…Dad doesn’t—”

“Of course not,” Lightning said.

In a flash she was up and kissing him. He moaned in approval as their tongues met and he lost himself in Lightning’s taste, clear and sweet.

Hope was panting when they parted, but couldn’t hold back a short laugh.  
“I don’t even know what’s more embarrassing, me getting hard whenever you breathe, or my Dad sexiling himself,” he admitted, putting his arms around her waist.

“Why be embarrassed at all, then?” Lightning said as she nuzzled his neck, nibbling softly.

Hope squirmed, then took courage and said: “Then touch me, Light, please…”

“Can’t. Ointment, remember?” She waved her fingers at him.

Hope glared at her, but she grinned at him and that was something that would never get old.

“Get on the bed,” she said. “I’ll be right back. Just let me wash my hands.”

“Hurry up, or I’ll start without you!”

“Oh?” she said. “Well, your shoulders did need urgent attention too, after all…”

Hope gulped.

* * *

“I know what you’re doing,” Hope said. It came out more slurred than he intended.

“What am I doing?” Lightning asked, as she undid one of the last knots in his back with her practiced and heavenly hands.

“Trying to turn me into a Flan. Easy to bend to your will,” Hope replied matter-of-factly.

“…Is it working?” she said, and Hope could hear the good-humor in her voice.

“‘fraid so,” Hope said. Even closed, his eyes felt too heavy. He snuffled into his pillow.

It felt like a long time later when he caught: “Is it so bad if I want to know what happened?”

A small part of his brain went on the alert at this. He groaned and burrowed deeper in the bedspread. “Was stupid. Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Hope.”

“Liiiiight. Your pillow talk sucks.” He sighed heavily. “Can’t you forget about it? Please?”

She slid upwards, covering his body completely. Sated as he was, the feel of all her warm skin against him still made his cock twitch. “No chance,” she said, as she pressed a kiss to his nape, then started mouthing that spot behind Hope’s ear that never failed to make him weak.

“That’s not fair,” Hope moaned.

“So surrender,” Lightning said.

He huffed, exasperated. “Get off, then.” He pushed his elbow back gently. Lightning took the hint and rolled sideways. Hope turned on his back and stared at the ceiling.

“I didn’t want you to find out, you know,” he said at last. “I was careless, but it’s not like I forgot your training. I figured I’d just be more vigilant and it wouldn’t happen again. No need for you to know.”

“Careless?” Lightning said, sitting up abruptly. “I thought you’d come to blows with one of those idiots you work with! You’re saying you were _ambushed_?”

“There were only five of them, Light. No match for an almighty l’Cie, huh? Tch. You should have seen them gloating while they were kicking me in the ribs.”

“Is that what they called you? Almighty l’Cie?”

Hope snorted. “They were spouting some crap about how I was putting on airs instead of being _grateful_ they allowed scum l’Cie like me to live on. As if they could have touched me at all if I still had my magic!”

“Hope.”

Hope knew that tone and cut her short. “It’s been four years, Light. Four years and nothing’s changed at all. They look at us and only see the enemies that destroyed their homes. It doesn’t matter how many times we save their lives or how we’re doing all we can to rebuild Pulse. They will always just want us dead.”

“It was Chancellor Zemus’s men, then?”

“What?” Hope whirled his head around to stare at her. “No! It was just some kids…”

“Hmm,” Lightning said. She laid down on her side again. “The same kids who worship the ground Snow walks on?”

“They do not! They were talking trash about him too and when Gadot showed up…”

“Ah.”

“What.” Hope said. He didn’t try to disguise his belligerent tone.

“That’s what was bothering you. You couldn’t take five people on your own and to make matters worse you were saved by Gadot, who you lately cannot stand—”

“Of course I can’t stand him!” Hope cried, standing up. “He flirts with you all the time!” Lightning was looking at him as if he was becoming Cie’th. “And he’s huge and strong and can actually fight—”

“Oh, for…” Lightning said. The next moment Hope found himself pinned on the bed, Lightning looming above him.

“I can’t believe you’re jealous, and of Gadot of all people,” Lightning exclaimed. She seemed hurt. Hope clenched his eyes.

“I’m too soft for you,” he said, and he hated how tiny his voice sounded.

“Oh, Hope,” Lightning sighed, and her forehead met his. She drew a long breath, then said: “I know people like Zemus make it easy to forget, but the war’s over, Hope. We’ve managed to kill all Cie’th and driven most beasts away. You don’t need to fight anymore. I don’t _want_ you to. That’s _my_ job.”

“I used to have your back, Light!” Hope screamed, trying to free himself from her hold on his arms. “I could protect you and heal your wounds and now I can’t even defend myself from a bunch of kids…”

“Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that, Hope?! I trained you myself and it’s obvious that you actually can not forget. How many did you take down?”

“What does it matter? They still defeated me!”

“Just answer me!” Lightning cried, her grip punishing.

“Three, okay?! But then the others attacked me from behind and I _panicked_ —”

“That’s called being outnumbered, Hope,” Lightning huffed and she sat back on her heels. Her shoulders were slumped. “Listen to me. You’re the best rifler in New Oerba. You’re so good with machines you started helping out with the power turbines at sixteen. And Snow, our idiotic Mayor, treats you like a little brother.”

Hope squirmed. “So what?”

“So those kids were _envious_ , Hope. It was regular bullying, not the beginning of a world-wide hunt for us like last time.”

Hope tried to let his mind stop spinning. “You sure? Because to me, it sounded like Cocoon all over again.”

“Snow’s not going to let that happen, Hope. And I will kill Zemus myself if it comes to that.”

Hope sighed. When the silence had stretched too much, he said with a forced smile: “I still don’t like how Gadot talks to you, though.”

Lightning just looked at him for a long while. Eventually she put her arms around his neck. “I prefer brains,” she said.

That drew a real chuckle from him. “Now you sound like a Cie’th,” Hope said, and kissed the smirk away from her lips.


End file.
